I've hacked through close to 10 deer this year with my plain-jane Ka-bar.

[With proper sharpening] I field dress and skin with it; then I hack through the ribs to seperate them from the spine. Then I hack through the spine ( into no less than 5 pieces). Finally I hack through the leg joints. All on one sharpening. *

I made a small notch in the blade once by hacking through the shaft of the femur, but that was just abusive.

I truly push this knife. Yet, I still get it sharp enough where incidental contact causes me to bleed.

Only thing, lightly oil after sharpening. They aren't even remotely stainless.

Ok, apparently things are more expensive than they were 15 years ago. I remember them being like $30.00. Hmm. Still not a bad price for the **** I put it through.

I have been keeping up with this thread and looking up prices for any specific models mentioned, just for the hell of it, and this post leads me to believe that it's time I do what I pretty much always do when posting in the Armory: post a link to Bud's Gun Shop.

I really hate to look like a shill, but they've become my go-to site for gun/ammo/accessory pricing because their site is so easy to navigate (and their prices seem to consistently be among the best). Anyway, here's the link to Bud's knife section. Note that you can filter by manufacturer using the pull-down menu above the product listing (to the right of "Let's See What We Have Here") and sort the product listing by clicking on any of the column labels.

"Judo is a study of techniques with which you may kill if you wish to kill, injure if you wish to injure, subdue if you wish to subdue, and, when attacked, defend yourself" - Jigoro Kano (1889)
***Was this quote "taken out of context"?***

"The judoist has no time to allow himself a margin for error, especially in a situation upon which his or another person's very life depends...."
~ The Secret of Judo (Jiichi Watanabe & Lindy Avakian), p.19

"Hope is not a method... nor is enthusiasm."
~ Brigadier General Gordon Toney

I must say I -really- like the old fairbairn-sykes, mostly just for teh sexieness of it. Sure, it's a dagger, and stilettolike, so you might not want to use it for everyday needs, but it's just so damn sexy.

Otherwise, I'f you're going to buy something sharp and pointy that you want to rely on to defend yourself, try it out in your hand first. If it feels natural to your way of moving, it is much better while stressed out, I'd say.

However, if multiple experienced sources confirm that a 7 or 8 inch blade is an asset, I'm not too proud to defer to the wisdom of my elders.

I don't know about being an elder, but I got some occasional use out of a hatchet, that the vast maority of knives could not handle. My Plt Sgt didn't mind me carrying it as the mentality at the time was "you can have it if you're willing to pack it". I don't know if you could do that these days... I had the blade very sharp and it was a good tool. I probably used the hatchet a bit more than my big knife (either Kabar or SOG depending on what I wanted to take to the field). I used the hell out of my little knife though (SOG folder).